1. Governance And Politics In Nigeria
Introduction
It is an honour being here, once again, in the midst of colleagues with whom I shared almost ten years
grappling with the essence of Politics and Government as we prepared a new generation of Nigerian
Political Scientists and Public Administrators. It has been 17 years since I congregated with you in such
an environment. I thank Professor Augustine Ikelegbe, the Acting Head of the Department of Political
Science & Public Administration at UNIBEN for granting me the opportunity to, once again, share my
thoughts with you on an issue of vital importance to Nigeria, especially at this crucial time in the Political
History of the country. It is less important that my thoughts should converge with yours, or reinforce
yours or in fact are incongruous to yours. The critical element of this discourse is that we agree to trade
our ideas on the subject-matter.
This lecture examines the concept of governance and its relationship to politics, with emphasis on
Nigeria. The issue of governance has gained universal currency as nations and international institutions
seek appropriate mechanisms to enhance the role of government by making it more transparent,
accountable, responsive and responsible to the constituencies. We will take a broad view of the concept
and juxtapose it with the functions of politics. This general theoretical escapade will set the stage for
zeroing in on Nigeria as a case study. The intent is to identify gaps in the Nigerian polity and prescribe
some remedial measures to bridge those gaps. Our objective is to provoke critical intellectual debate on
how best to ensure good governance in Nigeria. A systemic analytic approach will be employed as we
examine the array of problems that beset the Nigerian polity. We shall focus on the salient features of
those problems and illustrate how the incompetence of the Nigerian state to grapple with them has caused
the society to drift toward anarchy and potential disintegration.
On Governance and Politics
The question of good governance has captured the attention of international institutions, including the
World Bank[1] and several inter-governmental organizations like the G-8[2]. Both institutions have made
this issue a critical prerequisite in their aid and donation policies to countries with poor records on
governance.
But what do we mean by governance? There is a temptation to use governance and government
interchangeably. Government is said to derive from the Greek word kyberman which means to steer.
Being in the company of Political Scientists, I do not have any urge to define government in greater
details. But, let us agree to define a government as a collective body of elected and appointed institutions
empowered to legislate and adjudicate for the good of society, while governance is conceptualized as the
processes and systems by which a government manages the resources of a society to address socioeconomic and political challenges in the polity. Thus, a government is elected or appointed to provide
good, effective and efficient governance. According to Daniel Kaufmann, governance embodies “the
traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised for the common good.”[3]
A good governance system is defined by its relationship to some key prerequisites, including
Accountability, Transparency, Participation, and Predictability. Let us briefly review these elements.

2. ►Accountability
In a democracy, elected and appointed government officials, from the president down to the office
messenger in a local government council, must be accountable for their actions and policies. They must
provide answers for their activities to the general population. It is imperative that the population demands
this from all government officials at all levels of the political system. One way of doing this is for
members of each electoral constituency to construct a performance measurement framework compelling
respective government officials to provide answers for their activities and policies. They must demand
regular meetings with their respective elected officials at the constituency level.
►Transparency
Simply put, transparency is the easy and unrestricted access of government information by the population.
The general public must have access to information on government policies and programmes. It is vital
that ministers and bureaucrats ensure the unedited dissemination of such information as demanded by the
general public, excluding information pertaining to a nation’s security. The general public should agitate
for the enactment of an Access to Information Act that guarantees the unrestricted access of the public to
information on government policies and programmes. The enactment of such an Act will compel
governments to adhere to the tenets of transparency in their decision making process as well as limiting
the chances of government officials engaging in corrupt practices.
► Participation
This is a very important component of the elements of governance. It is imperative that citizens
participate at all levels of their government’s decision making process. Their participation does not end
with merely casting their votes on Election Day. They must insist and ensure that their votes are counted.
For effective participation in public policy, it is essential for citizens to organize themselves into credible
interest groups (professional associations, academic unions, students’ unions, labour unions, nongovernmental organizations, etc) that constantly review government policies, articulate the positions of
the general population, and engage elected officials in public debates regarding the rationale and impact
of their policies and programmes on the population.
► Predictability
A democratic polity is governed by laws and regulations anchored on the Constitution of the country.
Therefore, it is imperative that the application of these be fair and consistent, and thus predictable, within
the boundaries of the Constitution. Any arbitrary application of the laws and regulations would vitiate the
Constitution and inhibit good governance. A critical element of this is the recognition of the principles of
jurisdictional responsibilities, especially in a federal polity like Nigeria. For example, can a federal
government establish an Act empowering itself to review the finances, policies and activities of state
governments and punish erring state officials?
The above elements presuppose an educated, politically conscious, enlightened and an actively proactive
population. Where the population is ill equipped to engage in any of the above, it is a certainty that the
rudiments of good governance will readily be compromised by the government of the day. This situation
buttresses the view that a society gets the government that it deserves.